Strip-cutting machine



F. R. EVANS. STRIP CUTTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 12,1920.

1,406,947, Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR. w 94/ [77B [I/Q m5 J TTORNEYJ F. R. EVANS.

-STRIP CUTTING MACHINE. APPLICATION mm JULY 12, 1920.

1 ,406,947 Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

3 SHEET$SHEET 2.

A TTORNEYI F. R. EVANS.

STRIPCUTTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED .IULY 12.1920.

Patefited Feb. 14, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- MGATTORNEY;

UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

FRANK EVANS, OI ZANESVILLE, OHIO.

s'mir-cu'r'rme uacnnm To allwhomz'tmay concern: I

Be it known that I, FRANK R. EVANS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Zanesville, in the county of Muskingum and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Strip-Cutting Machines, of which the following is a speci fication.

This invention has as its object to provide an improved machine for cutting a roll of cloth or similar materiallongitudinally into strips, and while for this purpose it possesses general utility, the machine is designed primarily for cutting a roll of cloth into strips which in turn are subsequently cut transversely into blanks in the manufacture of the cuifs of cloth gauntlets.

One object of the present invention is to provide a machine for the purpose stated which will be continuous in its operation so long as the material is being fed therethrough and in which the strips as cut will be suitably taken up and wound so that a roll of cloth of any length fed through and acted upon by the machine will be divided into a plurality of rolls narrower than the ori inal roll. nother object ofthe invention is to provide in a machine for the p rpdse stated, an arrangement of circular kn ves which are so driven as to cut through the cloth as the cloth is fed through the machine, and in connection with these knives, a guard member through which the peripheral portions of the knives operate and which member serves as a means for preventing the cloth being taken up or caught by the cutting edges of the knives and distorted or disarranged.

Another object of the invention is to provide in combination with the cutting mechanism mentioned above, a die roll having peripheral grooves in which the peripheral portions or cutting edges of the knives operate and over which roll the cloth is passed and drawn in the operation ofthe machine.

A further object of theinvention is to so mount the die roll that the same may be readily swung into and out of cooperative relation to the knives so as to permit of more ready adjustment of the cloth through the machine and also to permit of the said roll being taken down either for the substitution of one roll for another when it is desired to out different widths of strips from the roll ofi cloth, or to permit of a substitution of roll sections where the roll is built up of 'a number of sections as in an embodiment Another object of the invention is to pro-- vide means whereby the cloth may be suitably tensioned while passing through the machine so as to insure of even slitting of the same and an even winding up of the strips resulting from the cutting operation.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1. is side elevation "of the machine embodying the present invention;

,Fig. 2 is a similar view looking at the op osite side thereof;

ig. 3 is a detail vertical front to rear sectional view through the machine;

Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectional] view through the knife shaft and knives of the machine;- p

Fig. 5 is a perspective view if the guard mem er employed in connecti knives; I

Fig. 6 is a view partly in elevation and partly ,in longitudinal section ofthe die roll for-cooperation with the knives;

in a modified form of die roll i 8 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2.

The machine embodying the present invention includes a supporting base frame which is indicated in general by the numeral Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 illustrat 1 and which maybe of any desired constructionf However, this frame includes upper side members one indicated b the numeral 2 and the other by the numera 3, these members constituting end frames between and upon which the mechanism of the machine is supported as will be made clear inthe specific description which is to ,fo1low.-

Mounted at the rear side of each end of the frame 1 isa frame bar 4, and these bars are provided at various elevations with open bearings 5 in which may be disposed the ends of a sha or spindle 6 upon which is wound a roll of cloth 7 which isto be cut into strips. The shaft 6 may be engaged in any corresponding pair of the bearings 5 and thus be supportedat any desired elen with the.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 14, 1922. I Application ma m 12, 1920. Serial No. aem'sa strips are wound upon a the transmission of power vation, Jld the cloth is led from the roll '7 through the cutting mechanism and after being cut longitudinally into strips, the

shaft which is indicated by the numeral 8 and which is mounted in suitable bearings 9 upon the upper forward corners of the frame members 2 and 3, these bearings preferably having cap members hinged as at 10 and normally held closed by any suitable latch device 11 so that by swinging the cap members away from the stationary part of the bearings, the shaft 8 maybe removed substituted therefor. In order that the advancing end of the cloth may be connected with the shaft so as to be wound thereon as I the shaft is rotated, the shaft may be provided with any suit-able means for gripplng the said end of the cloth or the ends of the strips into which the cloth is cut, and in the present instance the shaft is formed wlth a longitudinally extending groove 12 in which may be seated Wedge the end of the cloth in the groove.

The knife shaft of the machine which will presently be more specifically described, is indicated in general by the numeral 14 and the said shaft is suitably mounted in bearings 15 provided upon the frame members 2 and 3. The numerals 16 and 17 indicate respectively fast and loose pulleys upon one end of the said shaft 14 and the numeral 18 indicates a pinion likewise fixed upon the shaft. A drive belt 19 operates about the pulleys 16 and 17 and may be shifted from one to the other in the usual manner and is driven from power.

pulley is which passes also over a pulley 24 which is fixed upon a short shaft 25 mounted in alignment with the'shaft 8. By reference to i 8 of the drawings it will be observed that tie shaft 25 is provided at its inner end with a transverse ton e 26 and that the coacting end of the sha t 8 is provided with a transverse groove 27 to so that the two shafts will be connected for rotation when the shaft 8' is mounted in its bearings and yet the said shaft 8 may At this point a will be evident that in the operation of the machine, the knife shaft 14 is continuously rotated to the shaft 25 and consequently to the shaft 8, a belt tightening means is provided and the same comprises an arm 28 which is fixed upon the shaft 21 and is provided at its outer end and another shaft a locking rod 13 to threaded as at 39 with an idle roller 29 for engaging with the upper stretch of the belt wh swung downwardly from the in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 1. In order that this swinging of the arm may be accomplished, a hand lever cease to rotate and the travel of the cloth will be arrested.

he knife shaft heretofore referred to is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawarranged upon this shaft at suitable intervals between the bearing for the shaft are rotary lades 33 having peripheral cutting edges 34:. These blades are relatively spaced by means of collars be shpped onto the shaft and which perform their function in the manner clearly shown A spacing sleeve 36 is also fitted onto the shaft and lies within the bearing 15 and extends between the adjacent endmost blade or knife 33 and the pinion l8, and supplemental collars 37 are likewise which are toand one of these supplemental collars abuts against the other endmost blade or knife of the series. A binding screw 38 is removably into the last ment oned end any desired type of head 0 as for example one provided with radial openings or sockets 41 for the application of a spanner wrenc whereb the screw may be tightened or removed. 'l he supplemental collars 37 have bearing in a bearing plate 42 which is preferably of the triangular form shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings and secured as at 43 at its corners to the outer slde of an upwardly and inwardly curved portion 44 of the frame member 2, the inner edge of this frame portion 44 being of a contour to adapt the blades 33 to clear it as they are removed from the shaft 14. It will be understood that the spacing collars 35 are of such dimensions as ,to space the knives or blades 33 a distance equal to the width of the stripsto be cut and whenever it is desired to adapt the machine to cut strips of a different width or in the event it becomes necessary to repair a broken blade, the blades may be readily removed by removing the bearin plate 42, removing the binding screw 38, 's ipping off the collars 37, and then 130 successively removing the blades 33 and their spacing collars 35. The blades maybe again.fitted onto the shaft, alternating with spacing collars of the required length, and finally one or more of the supplemental collars 37 is to be fitted onto the shaft, the length of this collar or the length of an assemblage of such collars being such, how- 'ever, that the outer end of the collar or the outer end of the endmost collar of the as semblage will project a slight distance beyond the corresponding end of the shaft 14 as shown in Fig. 4. The binding screw 38 is then threaded into the end of the shaft and i said roll is preferably of wood although any other material may be employed. In that 'form of the invention shown in Figs 3 and 6 of the drawings, the roll is provided at its-ends with cap plates '46 having axially located bosses 47 formed in their ends with conical bearing sockets '48 to receive the conical pointed ends of bearing. screws 49, these screws being fitted through the outer ends of arms 50 between which the said-roll is supported and which arms are fixed upon the opposite end portions-0f a shaft 51 which is mounted for oscillatory movement in the members 2and 3. One end of the shaft 51' projects beyond the outer, surface of the frame member 2 and secured upomthis end of the shaft is a hand lever "52. This lever operates beside a segmental rack 53" and carriesa gravity actuated pawl 54 which, in -the upward swinging movement of the A lever may ride freely over the teeth of the rack but securely locks the lever against downward swinging movement. When the the cloth being caught and taken up by the lever 52' is swung upwardly as for example tothe full line position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the shaft 51 will be so rocked as to swing the arms 50' in an upward direction thus elevating the die roll 45 to approximately'the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. This roll is formed at suit able intervals with peripherally extending narrow grooves 54 in which work the cutting edges 34 of theblades or knives33. Before passing onto the shaft 8, the cloth is passed over the said roll 45 and consequently when the roll is held in the elevated position shown in Figs. 1 and f the draw1ngs, the cloth will be cut into strips by the rotary blades or knives 33. Whenit is' desired to move the roll out ofcoactlverelation to the blades 'as' for example when it is desired ilO'l'BIIlOVG' the blades and substitute others or-efie'cta rearrangement of the blades as regards their relative spacing, or when it is desired to"- start the advancing end of a new roll or bolt of cloth through the machine, the lever 52 may be swung downwardly so as to cause the arms to swing downwardly and thus lower the roll 45.

.After passing from the roll 7, the. .cloth is first led over an idle guide'roll 55 mounted between the'frame members 2 and 3 rearwardl of and below the shaft 51, and. the cloth 1s then led downwardly and beneath a tensioning roll 56 which is freely rotatably mounted upon the shaft 21 .and which is preferably provided with a facing 57 of cloth or any other suitable friction material.

From this tensioning roll the cloth isled v upwardly and over the die roll 45 and thence is led to and wound upon the shaft 8, it being cut into strips, however, as it travels over the said roll 45. Fixed at one end of the'tensioning roll 56 is a brake wheel 58,

and a brake band 59 is secured at one end as at 60 as for example to a pin which projects 'inwardly from the frame member '3, and sur- ?rounds the periphery of the brake wheel 58 and has pivoted to its other end a link 61 which link is likewise pivoted to a lever arm 62 fulcrumed at the point 60 and having mounted thereon a: weight 63, the upper edge of the arm being preferably provided with rack teeth 64 and the weight having a slot 65" formed lengthwise therethrough and provided with a toothed upper wall 66 to coact with the rack 64 whereby the weight may .be held at), any oint in the length of-the lever arm to WhlCh it may be moved. By reason of this arrangement, the brake band 59 is always tensioned and thus the speed of rotation ofthe tensioning roll 56 is'retarded so that the cloth is suitably tensioned as it is drawn through the machine, by the rotation of the shaft 8.

in the die roll 45 and in order. to prevent peripheries of the knivesand thus pulling away from the. said die roll, there is provided a-guard which is most clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 5 of the drawings. This guard which is indicated'in general by the numeral 67 comprises a frame consisting of alower bar 68, a top bar 69, and curved end bars 70.. The lower bar 68 is of tubular form andis formed-with a longitudinally extending slot 71, this slot extending approximately to one extreme end of the bar but terminating short of the other end of the bar as indicated by the numeral '72, The bar is preferably closed at its ends by suitable bearings having conical recesses'73 and these recesses receive the conical pointedends..- 74 of v bearing screws" 75. "which are threaded through theyfra'me members 2 and 3 and which thus support said bar for .of its slot 80,

. accommodate rotary or oscillatory movement. The said bar 68 connects the lower ends of the end bars 70 of the frame and these latter bars are provided at their upper ends with laterally projecting bracket portions 76 having openings 77 to receive the threaded stem 78 which project forwardly from the upper rear ends of the frame members 2 and 3, nuts 79 being threaded onto these stems so as to secure the bars 70 in the upright position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings. It will be understood, however, that by removing the nuts 79 the said bars 70 and consequently the entire frame may be swung downwardly about the screws as pivots. The upper bar 69 of the frame connects the side bars 70 near their upper end and this bar likewise is of tubular form and is provided in its under side with a slot 80 extending substantially throughout the entire length thereof and being located above and opposing the slot 71 in the lower bar 68. ,The bar 69 is' further formed in its upper side, at one end with a slot 81 in alignment therewith The numeral 82 indicates guard plates each of a predetermined width and each having its lateral edges cut in throughout their intermediate portions as at 83 so that when the bars are assembled edge to edge, slots 84 will be rovided between adj acent guard plates. hese plates are assembled within the frame by inserting them downwardly through the slots 81 and 80 until their lower ends seat in the slot 71 whereupon the plates may be in the said slots 71 and 80 until a suitable "number of the plates have been assembled within the frame. -'When the guard is in active position as shown in Fig. 3 'of the drawings, its convex side will oppose the die roll 45 and the peripheral portions of the blades or knives 33 will project through the slots 84 to coact with the said die roll. As the slots are only of sufficient width to the prospective blades, it will be evident that'the cloth being cut cannot be caught and carried over by the peripheries of the blades 33 as the presence of the guard will effectually prevent this. Of

course, when the die roll 45 is lowered, the

nuts 79 may be removed from the stems 78 and the entire guard may be swung downwardly so as to clear the knives and permit of rearrangement thereof. 1

In Fig. 7 of the drawings there'is illustrated a modified form of die roll and in this figure the numeral 85 indicates a shaft provlded at its ends with suitable bearings which take the place of the bearingbosses 47in that form of roll shownin Fig. 6 of the drawings and which bearing in the modified form may comprise a binding screw 86 having a threaded shank 87 fitted into a threaded socket 88 in the end of the shaft 85, the head of the screw being formed ture-the roll is built slid longitudinally with a conical bearing socket '89 serving the same purpose as the bearing socket 48 here} tofore referred to. In this modified strucup of a number of sections 90 and it is preferable that the opposite faces of the-sections be recessed as indicated by the numeral 91 so as to receive annular plates 92 of lead or any other suitable soft metal, one of the faces of each section being further annularly recessed as at 93 so that when the sections are assembled end to end in the manner illustrated in the said Fig. 7, the faces of adjacent ones of the plates 92 will be spaced to provide grooves 94 correspbnding to the grooves 54.

From the foregoing description of the invention it will be understood that a roll or bolt of cloth to be cut may be mounted upon the frame members 4 and, after the die roll 45 has been moved to the lowered position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the cloth may be passed over the idle guide roll 55, beneath the tensioning roll 56, and thence upwardly and over the said roll 45 and connected with the shaft 8, longitudinal incisions being made in the cloth in any desired manner so as to start the strips into which the cloth is to be cut and which strips are to be wound upon the said shaft 8. After the cloth has been positioned within the machine the die roll 45 may be swung upwardly and the machine set in operation whereupon the cloth will be continuously longitudinally cut into strips and these strips will, as stated, be wound upon the said shaft so that at the completion of the cutting operation the shaft 8 will bear a plurality of rolls of strips and the said shaft at such time may be removed from its supports, the withdrawn from the rolls of strips.

In order to prevent longitudinal shifting of the shaft 14 to the left in Figure 4 of the drawings, a washer plate 14 is fitted onto the shaft between two of the members 35 and bears against the inner side of the bearin head 15.

avingthus described the invention, what is claimedas new is:

shaft, elrcular knives mounted thereon and removable-from the shaft by displacement longitudinally thereof, an oscillatory support, a die roll journaled in the support, means for adjusting the support to move the die roll into to the said knives, means for drawing the material to be cut over the said die roll to be acted upon by the knives, and a guard comprising a. frame supported for oscillatory movement whereby it may be swung: into and out of cooperative relation to the knives, and ard sections mounted in the frame in position to engage between adjacent knives and presented to the material rod 13 loosened, and the shaft and out of cooperative relation passing over the die roll, movement of the support for the die roll to position to bring the die roll out of cooperative relation to the knives permitting of movement of the guard out of cooperativerelation to the said knives whereby the knives may be removed from their supporting shaft by longitudinal displacement.

2. In a strip cutting machine, a die roll, rotary knives cooperating therewith, takeup means for winding up strips of material cut by the knives and drawn, over the die roll, and means for tensioning the material to be out prior to passage over the die roll comprising a drum having a friction surface for contact by the material, a brake head upon the drum, a friction band surrounding "the brake head, an oscillatory arm to which one end of the band is connected substantially at the center of oscillation of the arm, connection between the other end of the band and the arm at a point spaced from its center of oscillation, and means tending to swin the arm in a'direction to pull upon the fast mentioned end of the band and tighten the same about the brake head.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

FRANK R. EVANS. [11.8.] 

